Toilet seat provided with body weight meter

ABSTRACT

The invention relates to a toilet seat with built in body weight meter, being connected to a bowl by hinge bearings and having force sensors and force transmitting elements on the lower side, wherein the force sensors are connected to a display. According to the invention the hinge bearings ( 3 ) comprise two bearing pins ( 6 ) perpendicular to the longitudinal axis of the toilet seat ( 2 ) and one bearing pin ( 8 ) parallel with the longitudinal axis of toilet seat ( 2 ) and the force transmitting elements ( 1 ) are independently adjustable in vertical and/or horizontal direction. The force transmitting elements ( 1 ) are adjustable in horizontal direction with eccentric wheels ( 15 ) and in vertical direction with washers ( 16 ) of different thicknesses. The force transmitting elements ( 1 ), and in several cases the eccentric wheels ( 15 ) as well, are at least partly covered with flexible protective caps ( 18 ).

The present invention relates to a toilet seat with built in body weightmeter, said seat being connected to a bowl by hinge bearings and havingforce sensors and force transmitting elements on the lower side, whereinthe force sensors are connected to a display.

A great number of bathroom scales of different designs and constructionshave already been known for a long time. Many variants of mechanicweight meters can be obtained, but—recently—electronic weight meterswith digital display become more popular.

One of the drawbacks of the body weight meters presently in use is theneed of proper space, which may be a problem in small rooms. Anotherdrawback may be that an even, hard and horizontal surface is needed foraccurate measuring. If the floor is uneven or askew, the weight meterwill rock, or if the weight meter is placed on a carpet, the measuringwill be vague.

One more drawback may be that standing on the scale, the weight cannotbe read easily, as the display is far from the eye.

For eliminating the above drawbacks, toilet seats with built in bodyweight meter have been proposed (see among others JP 2001000268455 or WO88/07176). In these body weight meters force sensors are arranged on thelower side of the toilet seat, and the force sensors are connected to adisplay. In some cases easy reading of the display is facilitated byarranging it directly on the seat (see DE 198 40 685 A1 or EP 1 189 042A1) or on an extension thereof (U.S. Pat. No. 4,697,656), being nearerto the eye as the normal display of a bathroom scale. According to JP199 000 278780, the display is arranged on the wall of the toilet.

However, the problem of accurate and reproducible measuring ensured bystable abutting of all force sensors on the surface of the toilet bowland by the rocking free position of the toilet seat, have not beeneliminated by these known constructions.

The reason of that is among others, that the surface of the toilet bowlsis generally uneven and does not offer a perfect plane for the forcesensors, which—in this way—cannot abut firmly on the surface of thetoilet bowl.

Another reason is that the design of the toilet bowls is notstandardised, the shapes of the different toilet bowls on the market arerather diverse, and there—for there is no guarantee that the forcesensors on a toilet seat obtained in a shop will necessarily be in rightpositions above the rim of the toilet bowl at home. The force sensors,on the other hand, have to abut on the toilet bowl with their wholesurface, or else the measurement will not be accurate, moreover therewill be a danger of the sensors being damaged.

Yet another reason that the problems outlined above have not beeneliminated by the known constructions is that the hinge bearings appliedup to now do not ensure the perfect and stress-free lie of the toiletseat on the toilet bowl.

There is a further problem in connection with the known body weightmeters arranged in a toilet seat, and that is the protection againstwater and dirt. For the undisturbed operation of the force transmittingelements, friction-free movement thereof is needed. Therefor, a thin gapshould be between the outer surface of force transmitting elements andthe housing of the force sensors. This gap, however, enablesinfiltrating of toilet water and dirt, which is not allowed hygienicallyand, on the other hand, may damage the weight meter in a short time. Atthe same time, cleaning of the gap is very difficult or not possible atall.

The known prior art publications are restricted to the weight meterconstructions and do not deal with the solution of the problems ofproper operation thereof. There are no suggestions e.g. for theelimination of the rocking of the toilet seat, due to the uneven surfaceof the toilet bowl or not correct hinge constructions. Similarly, thereis no hint in the prior art to the protection of the sensors or to theneed of adjusting their position to the shape of the toilet bowl.

Therefor, the object of the present invention is to provide a toiletseat with built in body weight meter, which eliminates the outlineddrawbacks, enables a correct and reproducible measuring of the bodyweight and operates reliable.

The toilet seat according to the invention, which is connected to a bowlby hinge bearings and has force sensors and force transmitting elementson the lower side, wherein the force sensors are connected to a display,is characterized in that the hinge bearings comprise two bearing pinsperpendicular to the longitudinal axis of the toilet seat and onebearing pin parallel with the toilet seat and the force transmittingelements are independently adjustable in vertical and/or horizontaldirection.

The force transmitting elements are adjustable in horizontal directionwith eccentric wheels, and in vertical direction with washers ofdifferent thickness or with lifting caps provided with such washers.

In order to protect the force sensors and the measuring system, theforce transmitting elements, and in several cases the eccentric wheelsas well, are at least partly covered with flexible protective caps,which are preferably held by an annular groove in the outer surface ofthe housing of the force transmitting element. The flexible protectivecaps and the lifting caps may be made of one single piece, as combinedcaps.

The construction according to the invention ensures the stress-freeposition of the toilet seat on all kinds of the toilet bowl, by enablingthe horizontal and/or vertical adjustment of all force transmittingelements by jam-free rotation. Due to that, the person seating on thetoilet seat has the feeling of stability, which is needed for the propermeasurement as well.

Further advantage of the construction according to the invention is thatthe housing of the force transmitting elements and force sensors can berotated by eccentric wheels and, in this way, can be adjusted to theshape of any toilet bowl on the market.

The washers of different thickness, alone or with lifting caps, enablethe compensation of the height differences on the rim of the toiletbowl, which—preferably together with the horizontal adjustment—resultsin maximal adaptation of the position of the force transmitting elementsto the given toilet bowl.

The flexible caps held by the housing of the force transmitting elementsinhibit infiltration of toilet water and dirt and, due to theirflexibility, do not influence the accuracy of the measurement.

The device is provided with a visual display or loudspeaker to forwardthe result of the measurement to the user. The measurement signal can betransmitted from the force sensors to the display means by wire, byradio waves, by projector etc. The measurement signal can also be avoice signal.

The construction of the device according to the invention does not needthe use of special elements, the sensors e.g. or the display to beapplied are well known construction parts of the body weight meters andare easily available on the market.

The invention will be described in detail in the following descriptionwith reference to the accompanying drawings given by way of non-limitingexamples and in which

FIG. 1 shows a part of a possible embodiment of the toilet seataccording to the invention, together with a force transmitting elementand a hinge bearing,

FIG. 2 shows another possible embodiment of the hinge bearing of thetoilet seat,

FIG. 3 shows a sectional view of a force transmitting element in thetoilet seat,

FIG. 4 shoes a sectional view of a combined cap of a force transmittingelement and

FIG. 5 shows a sectional view of a protective cap of a forcetransmitting element, covering the eccentric wheel.

As shown in FIG. 1, toilet seat 2 provided with force transmittingelements 1 is connected to a toilet bowl (not shown) by 3 hingebearings. For better understanding, the toilet seat 2 is shown in a 180°backward tilted position (it is not used in this position). Though inFIG. 1 one force transmitting element 1 is shown, there are preferablyfour such elements arranged in a toilet seat 2.

The construction of hinge bearing 3 is not conventional, in order toenable stress-free arrangement of the toilet seat on the toilet bowl(not shown). There is a bracket 5 as usual on a conventional clampingscrew 4, the bracket, however, is not of the conventional construction.One arm (pin 6 a) of a U-shape double pin is 6 hinged in a bore ofbracket 5, meanwhile an other arm (pin 6 b) thereof is hinged in a boreof an auxiliary, intermediate block 7. Pin 8 is projecting from theintermediate block 7, said pin 8 having a geometrical axis perpendicularto the arms of pins 6 a and 6 b. Pin 8 is hinged in another bracket 9 onthe toilet seat 2. The other hinge bearing not shown in FIG. 1 is ofsimilar construction.

Another possible embodiment of the hinge bearing is shown in FIG. 2.Here, the intermediate block 7 is directly hinged on pin 6 in thebracket 5 of clamping screw 4. Intermediate block 7 has a hinged part 7a with a greater diameter and a pin 8 of smaller diameter, rotatablyarranged in the hinged part 7 a. At the end of this pin 8, there is ajoint with pin 10, said joint being provided with rotatable extensions12 and 13, holding the toilet seat 2 and a toilet cover 11.

In both embodiments, the hinge bearing 3 is provided with threeindependent rotational axis, i.e. two bearing pins 6 a and 6 b or 6 and10 perpendicular to the longitudinal axis of the toilet seat 2 and onebearing pin 8 parallel with the longitudinal axis of the toilet seat 2,instead of the conventional single rotational axis. This arrangementenables a position for the toilet seat 2, which is always parallel tothe plane of the rim of the given toilet bowl, without any tilting orstress.

FIG. 3 shows a sectional view of a force transmitting element 1 in atoilet seat 2. The housing 14 of the force transmitting element 1 (andthe corresponding force sensor, not shown) is built in an eccentric disc15, and—in this way—all the force transmitting elements 1 canindependently be adjusted in the plane of the toilet seat 2 to positionscorresponding to the shape of the rim of the toilet bowl. The forcetransmitting elements 1 can independently be adjusted in verticaldirection as well. The system contains a set of lifting caps 17 providedwith washers 16 of different thicknesses. Lifting caps 17 together withthe required amount of washers 16 can be pulled over the outer surfaceof the force transmitting elements 1, and accordingly, all forcetransmitting elements 1 can independently be adjusted to contact the rimof the toilet bowl.

As, in order to ensure a friction-free movement, there is a clearancefit between a force transmitting element 1 and the corresponding housing14, the components arranged in the housing 14 can get choked without anyprotection. This protection is provided by the cap 18 shown in FIG. 3.It is made of a resilient material and is provided with an annular innerrib, which fit in an annular groove 19 on the outer surface of thehousing 14.

According to a preferred embodiment of the invention, lifting caps 17and protecting caps 18 are made of one single piece, as combined caps20, as shown in FIG. 4.

FIG. 5. shows an other embodiment of the invention, wherein protectioncap 18 is greater, than that shown in FIG. 3 and covers eccentric disc15. Accordingly, annular groove 19 is provided on a ring 21 being partof the toilet seat 2, instead of the outer surface of 14 housing.

The embodiment in FIG. 5 does not contain any lifting cap 17 or combinedcap 20, the washers 16 are arranged in a seat provided in forcetransmitting element 1.

The measurement signal can be transmitted from the force sensors to adisplay means by any well-known way: by wire, by radio waves, byprojector etc. The measurement signal can also be a voice signal tellingthe user the result of the measurement.

With the toilet seat according to the invention, the problems outlinedin the description of the state of art can be eliminated.

The toilet seat can always be arranged in a plane exactly parallel withthe rim of any toilet bowl, without the danger of tilting or arising anystress in the seat. At the same time, all the force transmittingelements can be individually adjusted to the actual rim of a toiletbowl, both in vertical and horizontal directions. Moreover, theprotection of the sensors against dirt is also provided.

While preferred embodiments of the present invention have been shown anddescribed herein, it will be obvious to those skilled in the art thatsuch embodiments are provided by way of example only. Numerousvariations, changes and substitution will now occur to those skilled inthe art without departing from the invention.

1. Toilet seat with built in body weight meter, said seat beingconnected to a bowl by hinge bearings and having force sensors and forcetransmitting elements on the lower side, wherein the force sensors areconnected to a display, characterized in that the hinge bearings (3)comprise two bearing pins (6) perpendicular to the longitudinal axis ofthe toilet seat (2) and one bearing pin (8) parallel with thelongitudinal axis of toilet seat (2) and the force transmitting elements(1) are independently adjustable in vertical and/or horizontaldirection.
 2. Toilet seat according to claim 1, characterized in thatthe force transmitting elements (1) are adjustable in horizontaldirection with eccentric wheels (15).
 3. Toilet seat according to claim1, characterized in that the force transmitting elements (1) areadjustable in vertical direction with lifting caps (17) provided withwashers (16) of different thicknesses.
 4. Toilet seat according to claim1, characterized in that the force transmitting elements (1) areadjustable in vertical direction with washers (16) of differentthicknesses.
 5. Toilet seat according to claim 1, characterized in thatthe force transmitting elements (1), and in several cases the eccentricwheels (15) as well, are at least partly covered with flexibleprotective caps (18).
 6. Toilet seat according to claim 5, characterizedin that the flexible protective cap (18) is held by an annular groove(19) in the outer surface of the housing (14) of the force transmittingelement (1).
 7. Toilet seat according to claim 5, characterized in thatthe flexible protective caps (18) and the lifting caps (17) are made ofone single piece, as combined caps (20).
 8. Toilet seat according toclaim 1, characterized in that it is provided with a visual display orloudspeaker.